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Copyright by Xia Yu 2015 The Report Committee for Xia Yu Certifies that this is the approved version of the following report: Yoko Ono and Her Contributions to Feminist Art APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Beili Liu Chien-hsin Tsai Yoko Ono and Her Contributions to Feminist Art by Xia Yu, B.A. Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin MAY 2015 Dedication I dedicate this report to all my lovely friends, my parents and my professor Dr.Liu, for their love and help. Abstract Yoko Ono and Her Contributions to Feminist Art Xia Yu, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Beili Liu With her music, films, performances, poetry, paintings, and sculptures, Yoko Ono has remained a seminal figure in Avant-grade culture since the 1960s. Her feminist art is inextricably related to the development of Conceptualism and Fluxus. Ono’s feminist art is distinct from the rest of her work as it combined instructions, realization, audience participation, and use of language as a form of art. This report discusses the feminist art movement with a particular emphasis on Yoko Ono, which is based on a comprehensive search and review of literature, with over fifty academic materials reviewed. The study explores the contributions of Yoko Ono within feminist art and what differentiate her from other feminist artists in art history. The discussion within the study suggests that Ono’s feminist artwork are not only restricted to painting, but also including poetry, painting, music, film, and sculpture among others. One section of the report analysis shows how Ono’s marriage to Lennon contributed to the popularity of her feminist artwork, particularly the popularity of her works within the pop culture. Similarly highlighted within the discussion is the bearing of Ono’s racial and transnational identities to her unique feminist practice. Drawing on the study objectives, the research v concludes that Yoko Ono made significant contributions to the feminist art movement, and acted as a symbolic figure in contemporary feminism. vi Table of Contents INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1 Background of the Study………………………………………………………..3 Aims and Objectives of the Study…………………………………………........5 Structure of the Study Report……………………………………………….......6 REVIEW OF LITERATURE……………………………………………………….7 Introduction………………………………………………………………….......7 Methodology for literature Search………………………………...…………….7 Yoko Ono’s background Information………………………...………………....9 The Influence of Ono’s marriage on her artistic works………………….…….12 Under-Discussion of Yoko Ono Within the Extant Literature……...…………15 FEMINIST ART…………………………………………………………………....23 The feminization of Society by Ono……………………………………….......23 Cut Piece…………………………………………………………………….....24 “The Woman as the Nigger of the World”………………………………….....29 “Sisters O Sisters”………………………………………………........…….......33 TRANSNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FEMINISM………………………..38 The gender ideologies in Japan……………………………………………..….39 Japanese Feminist Movement………………………………………………….41 “Woman Power”: A symbolic Figure in Contemporary Feminism…………....42 Issues emerging from extant literature………………………………..….........44 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION…………………………………...49 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..49 Recommendation……………………………………………………………....51 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….…...53 vii INTRODUCTION Introduction The onset of the mid-20th century saw significant contributions of women in different areas such as painting, performance art, music, and poetry.1 The Feminist Art Movement seen today are resultant of the earlier triumph made by earlier feminist artists. Concisely, the feminist art can be termed as gender identity representation using art.2 Field described feminist art as a concept that exposes the discrimination against women within society and any kind of challenge they face.3 Chicago defined feminist art as art that reaches out to women, affirming and validating their experiences to make them feel good about themselves. She indicated “feminist art is all the stages of a woman giving birth to herself.”4 In brief, feminist art explores the subject of female discrimination. The dedication of the feminist art activists is significant to be highlighted with immense inspiration for the liberation of women today. Nevertheless, authors and researchers in the fields of literature and gender studies (among other related fields) have given some of these women less attention than they deserve. Yoko Ono is a significant figure to feminist art. The contributions she made to the feminist art were in boarder fields as compared to other female artists in feminist art history. For decades, Yoko Ono’s daring art practice has been breaking new grounds as 1 Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart, America Popular Culture Through History: The 1980s (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2007). 2 Jill Fields, “Frontiers in feminist art history,” A Journal of Women Studies, 33, no.2 (2012): 1-21. 3 Ibid. 4 Judy Chicago, What is feminist Art? http://judychicago.com/application/assets/pdf/what-is-feminist- art.pdf (accessed Feb 10, 2015). 1 opposed to the works of other female artists. Ono’s artwork has been consistently exhibited till nowadays, creating installations and performances. Some of the installations and performances are re-staged works from her earlier performances in 1960s. There are a couple of distinctive qualities for talk about Ono’s work. First, her work is specifically based on the drive to make art participatory. She based her performance approaches on the precept that audiences subconsciously absorb messages when they consume them passively. A few of her performances, such as Cut Piece, were intended to enable passive audience consumption. Second, as mentioned above, Ono’s feminist art pieces are not only restricted to certain area. Her artworks include painting, performance art, music, poetry, and movie, which will be discussed later. In addition, Ono had a unique racial identity as an Asian immigrant in the United States. The diverse racial diversity implied her acceptance in most contexts, with popular endorsement in all contexts. Her racial diversity also enabled her to be a transnational feminist, crossing from west to east without resistance. Last but not least, Ono’s marriage to Lennon brought her to the public and pop culture, fanning her popularity further. Despite her creative enthusiasm in feminist arts, Ono is not sufficiently discussed within the extant literature on feminist art. Consequently, this study is set to review and discuss the devotions of Ono as a feminist art activist. At the meantime, the study highlights other feminist art activists in the history of Feminist Art Movement. The study suggests that feminist art activists, particularly Yoko Ono have made meaningful contributions to the contemporary artwork and the status that women artists base their work today. 2 Background of the Study The Feminist Art Movement began in the 1960s through to 1970s. Unlike most other movements in art history, the Movement was fuelled by political, personal, and academic goals. As the Feminist Art Movement portrayed a larger picture of women’s contribution in art, it coincided with the larger feminist movement that was perceived to represent the interests of women who were fighting against discrimination by male members of society.5 Its contribution included advocating for the inclusion of female artists in museums and galleries and building institutions that would favor the interests of women. Between the mid and late 1960s, the Feminist Art Movement expanded its emphasis to include female consciousness, exhibitions’ equal distribution, and economic fairness.6 The continued vibrant operation of the Movement gained its momentum with the inception of the second wave of feminist art activism in the 1970s. A notable contributor to the second wave of this movement was Lucy Lippard, who led a major protest against the exclusion of female artists from museum exhibitions and galleries in both Los Angeles and New York.7 The second activist in the movement was Linda Nochlin, who is known for launching the first undergraduate course in art history of women artists in the United States.8 In her 1971 seminal essay titled Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists, Nochlin demonstrated the barriers that were brought by the institutions hampering the progress of women in the field of art. It is this 5 Jill Fields, “Frontiers in feminist art history,” 2. 6 Thalia Gouma-Peterson and Patricia Mathews, “The feminist critique of art history,” The Art Bulletin, 69, no. 3(1987): 326-357. 7 Lucy O’Brien, She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop And Soul. (New York: A&C Black, 2013). 8 Jill Fields, “Frontiers in feminist art history,” 4. 3 article that formed the foundation for the inquiry of feminists,9 from which today’s feminist art history originates. In addition to the two mentioned front runners, there are also other women who were instrumental in the Feminist Art Movement. They include Yoko Ono, Judy Chicago, Sutherland Harris, and Merriam Schapiro. Despite the enrichment feminist artists brought to the contemporary art field, these artworks have not received the equal acknowledgement that they deserve (Field 2). According to Nochlin,10 the onset of the Feminist Art Movement saw the female arts staple over the concept of the